Pop Bottles for Thanksgiving

While something like Sierra Nevada Celebration or Sam Adams Winter Lager is something to be thankful for, it’s time to step up your bottle game for Thanksgiving. I’d like to pick a few bottles that will go well with football, Turkey and dessert. Hopefully these are easy for you to get, or your über beer geek friend has this ready to pull from their secret stash. Let us know what you plan on popping this holiday season!

Watching Football All Day Beer

Football starts pretty early on Thanksgiving Day. Your kids might have woken you up early to watch the parade, but it’s a holiday, so it’s ok to start drinking beer early. You don’t want to be faced down in the mashed potatoes, so here are a few craft beers that will keep you alive to eat that feast.

Firestone Walker Pale 31- This beer clocks in at 4.8 % abv, which is about as strong as a can of macro lager, and tastes like a small IPA. It can be found in many states now, and is delicious even ice cold.

Full Sail Session Lager- Another low alcohol choice to get you through the long day with a smile. You can find 12 pack boxes of these, and they are only 11 oz. bottles, and when every brain cell and square inch in your stomach counts, 11 oz. is all right!

Oskar Blues Mama’s Little Yella Pils – One of your relatives is no doubt itching to buy an 18 pack of Bud Lite to start crushing. For a few bucks more, have drunk uncle Fred pick up Mama’s Little Yella Pils. Tell him when he doesn’t have a headache the next morning to thank you.

Turkey Time

People love something light bodied and sparkly with their Thanksgiving feast. For years, I’ve been at many a table with sparkling cider, champagne or white wine. I’ll tell you whats better than that: beer and hard cider. These bottles might be harder to get your hands on, unless you have a beer geek on speed dial, but hopefully you catch my drift and find something along these lines.

Ithaca Brute – Start hunting for next year if you can’t get it for this year. This beer is amazing and champagne like. That might be due to the fact it’s finished off with 3 strains of Champagne yeast. Brute is a golden bodied sour ale that is very similar to the body and tartness of a glass of bubbly. This would really impress the folks at the table who look down upon beer.

The Bruery Hottenroth – Very tart, light bodied, sparkly, and not made with grapes! I believe this will wash the turkey and stuffing down quite nicely. It’s very low in alcohol (3.1%), and will only enhance your dining experience, not hinder it.

Crispin Cider – Personally, I’m not a hard cider drinker, however I have sampled a handful of Crispin Cider, and have met very nice people who work there. Forget Martinelli’s, that’s for children. Following the link will show you all the fun takes on hard cider Crispin has to offer. They are in fairly wide distribution, so still plenty of time to snag some.

The Turkey After Party

If you’ve made it through the football session, and the dinner time gorging, that’s because you are a champion. It’s time to break out the big dogs to go with your dessert, or as the dessert itself.

Deschutes The Abyss – There was a time when this beer was really hard to find. I feel like that isn’t the case anymore, so time to pick up a bottle. This is a big boozy, chocolaty, woody Imperial Stout blended from different types of barrels. People like to age this beer, I maintain it’s wonderful fresh. This is a big beer, so be prepared or share it with the other champions.

Double Bastard Ale – This big beer will take you to the next level, so be careful. Very malty, very hoppy, and very strong. This beer is fairly easy to track down, so it shouldn’t be a problem finding at the last minute.

Cigar City Warmer Winter Warmer – Here’s a big Old Ale that doesn’t necessarily make you think of Winter, and that’s why there’s that extra ‘Warmer’ in the name. It’s big and malty, and pretty darn tasty. Coming in a 750 ml, you’d better share this with a few people.